Land and people

1                                       India stretches from the snow- capped Himalayas in the North to sun drenched  coastal villages of the South ,the humid tropical forests on the south – west coast , the fertile Brahmaputra  valley on its East to the Thar desert in the West.

              India is the Seventh Largest Country in the World& ranks Second in Population.

              India coverage an area of 32, 87, 263 sq. km. It lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. The main land extends between latitudes 8° 4’ and 37° 6’ N, longitudes 68° 7’ and 97° 35’ E and measures  about 3,214 km from North to South between the extreme latitudes and about2,933 km from East to West between the extreme longitudes.

             Tropic of Cancer (23°30’ N) divides the country into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the main land, lie Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshad weep Islands in Bay of Bengal and Arania sea respectively.

            India has a land boundary of about 15,200 km. The total lengt5h of the coastline of the mainland , Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands is 7,516.6 km.

2                  India shares its land boundaries with Afghanistan and Pakistan to the north – West, China, Bhutan and Nepal to the north, Myanmar to the Far East and Bangladesh to the east of West Bengal.

          Sri Lanka is separated from India by a narrow Channel of sea formed by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar, while Maldives Islands are situated to the south of the Lakshweep Islands.

         India can be divided into 6 zones mainly North, South, East, west Central and North –east zone. It has 28 states and 7UTs.

3                 In the Himalayan region, the Kashmir and Kullu valleys are fertile regions. Jeep La and Nathu La passes are the main trade routes in the Indo- Tibet region through Chumbi valley.  North –east of Darjeeling and Shipki La in the Satluj valley and North east of Kalpa (kinnaur) are other high altitude passes. The mountain wall extends over a distance of about2, 400 km. In the east, Between India and Myanmar and India and Banglades hill ranges are much lower.  Garo, Khasi, Jaintia and Naga Hills, running almost east- west, join the chain to Mizo and Rkhine Hills running north-south.

       The plains of the Ganga and the Indus are about2, 400 km long and 240-320 km broad.  They are one of the world’s greatest plains formed by basins of three distinct river systems- the Indus the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. They are one of the world’s greatest stretches of flat alluvium and one of the most densely populated areas or the earth.

        In the desert region , the great  desert extends from the edge of the Rann of Kuchch beyond  Luni river northward, comprises Rajasthan- Sind frontiers.  The little desert extends from the Luni  between  Jaisalmer and Jodhpur up to the northern  wastes. Between the great and the little deserts lies a zone of adsolutely sterile country consisting of rocky land, cut up by limestone ridges.

       The Peninsular region is flanked by Eastern Ghats with an average elevation of 610 m & Western Ghats with an average elevation of 915 to 1,220 m, rising in places to over 2,440 meters. Between  the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea lies a narrow coastal strip, while between Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal , there is a broader coastal area.

      The southern point of plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills  where the Eastern and the Western Ghats meet. The Cardamom Hills lying beyond may be regarded as a continuation of the Western Ghats.